Vulcanizing apparatus



Aug. 18, 1936. N. VAN GLI-:EF

VULCANI Z ING APPARATUS Filed sept. 18, 1935 Patented ug. 1'8, 1936s UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VULCANIZIN G APPARATUS Application September 18, 1935, Serial No. 41,006

7 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to apparatus for use in vulcanizing patches on punctured tubes for pneumatic tires. More particularly the invention relates to that type of vulcanizing apparatus which is portable and comprises (l) a cup-shaped platen which is formed of metal and has on the bottom thereof an uncured patch of rubber with a vulcanizing agent therein and also has a fuel disk above the bottom and within its side wall for providing heat for patch vulcanizing purposes; and (2) a C-shaped clamp which is provided on the lower arm thereof with a tube supporting part and has a screw supported clamping spideron its upper arm for forcing the platen downwardly towards the tube supporting part and holding the rubber patch in clamped relation between the platen and the tube.

It has heretofore been proposed in the manufacture of vulcanizing apparatus of this type to form the side wall of the platen with a pair of diametrically opposite, V-shaped notches and to form the screw supported clamping spider with four outwardly and downwardly extending, platen ,engaging legs two of which extend at right angles to, and are slightly longer than, the other legs and are shaped to fit within the V-shaped notches in the side wall of the platen and to engage the fuel disk and hold it in place against the bottom of the platen. In practice it has been found that whereas a vulcanizing apparatus which is made in this manner is extremely eli'icient in operation due to the fact that it includes means for; holding the fuel disk in place against the bottom of the platen, it does not have general application because a platen having a side wall Without notches and of old and long standing design cannot be substituted for, or used in lieu of, the platen with the two diametrically opposite, V-shaped notches due to the fact that the spider has two long legs and two short legs and hence. is not adapted to apply to a platen with an unnotched side wall clamping pressure at four points which in practice has been found to be necessary.

One object of the invention is to provide a vulcanizing apparatus of the type under consideration which comprises a C-clamp having a screw supported spider with two long legs and two short legs at right angles to the long legs and. has greater capabilities of use than previously designed apparatus of the same general character in that it comprises in addition to the clamp an adapter which is in the form of a crossbar with upturned notched ends for receiving and extending the short legs of the clamping spider and permits the apparatus to be used with a platen having a side wall without notches aswell as with a platen having a side wall with diametrically opposite notches for receiving the long legs of the spider.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vulcanizing apparatus of the last mentioned character in which the adapter has down-struck prongs which when the adapter is used to extend the short legs of the screw supported clamping spider in connection with the use of a platen with a wall without notches serve to hold the bar against sidewise movement with respect to the platen and vat the same time engage the fuel disk in the platen and hold it against the platen bottom.

A further object of the invention is to provide an adapter which permits the C-clamp of a Vulcanizing apparatus of the type and character under consideration to be used either with a platen having a side wall without notches or a platen having a side wall with diametrically opposite, V-shaped notches and is of such construction that it may be produced at a low and reasonable cost.

Other objects of the invention and the various advantages and characteristics of the present adapter and the vulcanizing apparatus with which the adapter is associated, will be apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly deiined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this specication or disclosure and in which like numerals of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a perspective of a vulcanizing apparatus embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section showing the manner in which the adapter serves tolengthen the short legs of the screw supported clamping spider so that the spider is adapted for use with a platen having no notches in the side Wall thereof;

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 and exhibiting the manner in which the down-struck prongs of the adapter serve to hold the fuel disk against the bottom of the platen; and

Figure 4 is a perspective of the adapter.

The vulcanizing apparatus which forms the subject matter of the invention is designed for use in connection with repairing a punctured tube t for a pneumatic tire. It is essentially of the portable type or variety and comprises a cupshaped, metallic platen 5, a clamp 6, and an adapter 1.

The platen 5 is cup-shaped and consists of aV circular bottom 8, and a cylindrical side wall 9 which is formed integrallyY with, and extends upwardly from. the marginal part of the bottom 8. As shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawing, the platen has a patch IG on the under face of the bottom 8 and a fuel disk II on the top face of thement against the tube is-- covered and protected` by a circular piece (not shown) of Holland cloth or likeV material. in the art, is removed from the rubber patch immediately before the vulcanizing operation and serves to prevent the patch from adhering to sur'- aces against which it is brought into contact. The fuel disk II ts within the platen and when ignited produces suicient heat to cause the patch I9 to be vulcanized into adhering relation with the tube t. The side wall 9V of the platen surrounds the edge of the fuelrdisk and has a smooth or flat upper edge. i 4

The clamp 6 is C-shaped. It consists of a lower arm I2, an upper arm I3,'and a connecting piece I4 and has'a clamping spider I5. The lower arm underlies the upper arm I3 and is shaped to form a circular tube supporting part I5. This part is at and is adapted to have theportion of the tube V t with the puncture or hole placed over it. The connecting piece Y I4 extends between and is YYternally threaded hole I8 extendingtherethrough.

The spider I5 serves, as hereinafter described, to

force the platen 9 downwardly towards the tube supporting part I6 of the clamp and operates to hold the rubber patch I 0 in clampedrelaticn between the platenand the tube. It consists of a pair of legs I9 and a pair of legs 29, and is supported from the upper arm I3 of the clamp byra screw 2l. This screw extends through and interfits with the internally threaded hole I8 in the enlargement I1 at the outer end of the upper arm of the clamp and embodies a thumb-piece 22 at its upper end for turning purposes.v The lower end of the screw is connected by a swivel 23 to the central portion of the spider I5. When 'the screwwi's turned in one direction? the clamping spider is forced downwards and through the mediumV of the platen 6 operates to clampthe rubber patch I9 against the tireV tube t.Y When the screw is turned in the opposite directionl the clamping spider is moved'upwards with respect to the tube supporting part I6 of the YC-shaped clamp 6 and releases the platen. The legs. I9 extend outwards and downwards in opposite directions and have V-shaped extremities 24. The

Ylegs 20 extend outwards and downwards in oppo- Ysite directions and are disposed at right angles'to This piece,V as well understoodV 1,970,698). When th-e clamping spider is applied to a platen of the last mentioned type theV- shaped extremities 24 of the legs I9 engage diametrically opposite portions of the edge of the side wall of the platen and the V-shaped extremities 25 fit within the diametrically opposite notches in theside wall of the platen and engage and hold against the bottom thefuel disk.

The adapter 1 consists of a bar 26 of metal and serves to adapt the clamping spider I5 of the C- shaped clamp 6 for use with the platen 5, Vthat is,

with a platen the side wall of which is unnotched and has a smooth or ilat upper edge. The bar 26 is adapted to extend across the upper edge of the side wall 9 of the platen and is fashioned or form-ed so that the ends 21 thereof extend upwards and have V`shaped notches 29 for receiving the V-shaped extremities 24 of the short legs I9 of the clamping spider. The notches 28V are of such depth that when the V-shaped extremities 24 of the legs I9 are disposed therein and the V-shaped extremities 25 of the legs 20 engage the upper edge of the side wall of the platen the bar 26 engages the platen side wall and thus the side Wall is engaged or contacted at four points. The upturned notched ends 21 together with the bar 26 constitute simple means for extending the short legs I9 so that they are as long as the long legs 2U and the clamping spider is thus adapted for use in connection with a platen having an unnotched or ilat edged side wall. In order to hold the adapter against sidewise movement with re,- spect to the platen 5 the bar 26 is provided inwards of the upturned ends 21 with down-struck prongs 29. These prongs are spaced apart a distance substantially equal to theV diameter of the inner periphery of the side wall 9 of the platen and, as shown in Figure 2, engage the inner periphery of the platen side wall when the adapter is in its operativeV position. The prongs 29 -in addition to holding the adapter against sidewise movement or displacement with respect tothe platen 5 is a medium for holding the fuel disk Il against the bottom 8 of the platen in that they engage the margin of the disk at diametrically opposite points, as shown in Figure 2. Y

' In vulcanizing the tire tube t by way of the platen 5, the clamp B and the adapter 1, the tube is rst placed on the'circular supportingpart I6 of the lower arm I2 of the clamp. Thereafter the platen isr'positioned over the tube and the rubber patch Ill brought into contact with the punctured part of the tube. After proper centering or positioning of the platen the adapter 1 is placed across the upstanding side wall 9 of theY of the spider are brought into registry with the n notches 28 Vin the upstanding ends 21 of the adapter bar 26. further so asV to feed or move the spiderY further towards the tire tube t the V-shaped extremities 24 of the short legs of the spider move into the notches 28 and exert a downward pressure on the side wall of theV platen at two di-v ametrically opposite points and the V-shaped extremities 25 of the long legs 29 of the clamping spider engage the upper edge of the platen side Wall and exert downward clamping presf sure at points diametrically opposite oneanother and at right angles to the legs I9. After the patch has been placed under proper or'desired When the screw 2| is. turnedV Aclamping pressure the fuel disk Il is ignited and the vulcanizing operation is commenced as well understood in the art. During the vulcanizing operation the down-struck prongs 29 which are formed on the bar slightly inwards of the upstanding ends 2l' and serve to prevent sidewise movement of the adapter with respect to the platen hold the disk against the bottom 9 of the platen and prevent it from curling up or lifting away from the platen bottom. When it is desired to use the C-shaped clamp with a platen having V-shaped notches in the side wall thereof for receiving the V-shaped extremities 25 of the long legs 2G of the clamping spider no use is made of the adapter.

The adapter because it is in the form of a bar and is in the nature of a metal stamping, may be manufactured at an extremely low cost.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth, since these may be modified within the scope Aof the appended claims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A vulcanizing apparatus comprising in combination a clamp having a part for supporting a tire tube and also having a clamping spider disposed above, and movable to and from, the tube supporting part and embodying a long leg and a short leg, a fuel retainingl platen adapted to clamp a patch against the portion of the tube on said supporting part and having an upstanding side wall adapted to be engaged by, and to receive clamping pressure from, the long leg of the spider, and an adapter adapted to fit on the side wall of the platen and having a part thereof shaped to receive the short leg of the spider and interlock therewith so as to hold the adapter against lateral displacement and adapted to transmit clamping pressure from said short leg to the side wall of the platen.

2. A vulcanizing apparatus comprising in combination a clamp having a part for supporting a tire tube and also having a clamping spider disposed above, and movable to and from, the tube supporting part and embodying a pair of oppositely extending, long legs, and a pair of oppositely extending short legs at right angles to the long legs, a fuel retaining platen adapted to clamp a patch against a portion of the tube on said supporting part and having a continuous, upstanding side wall adapted to be engaged at opposite points thereof, by, and to receive clamping pressure from, the long legs of th-e spider, and a metallic one-piece adapter adapted to fit on the side wall of the platen and having means shaped to receive the short legs of the spider and interlock therewith so as to hold the adapter against lateral displacement and adapted to transmit clamping pressure from said short legs to different points on the side Wall of the platen.

3. A vulcanizing apparatus comprising in combination a clamp having a part for supporting a tire tube and also having a clamping spider disposed above, and movable to and from, the tube supporting part and embodying a pair of oppositely extending, long legs, and a pair of V-shaped oppositely extending short legs at right angles to the long legs, a fuel retaining platen adapted to clamp a patch against a portion of the tube on said supporting part and having a continuous, upstanding side wall adapted to be engaged at opposite points thereof by, and to receive clamping pressure from, the long legs of the spider, and an adapter bar adapted to extend over and across the side walls of the platen and having V- shaped formations at the ends thereof for receive ing the short legs of the spider respectively and for transmitting clamping pressure from said short legs to different points on the side wall of the platen.

4. A vulcanizing apparatus comprising in combination a clamp having a part for supporting a tire tube and also having a clamping spider disposed above, and movable to and from, the tube supporting part and embodying a pair of oppositely extending, long legs, and a pair of oppositely extending short legs at right angles to the long legs, a fuel retaining platen adapted to clamp a patch against a portion of the tube on said supporting part and having a continuous, upstanding side wall adapted to be engaged at opposite points thereof by, and to receive clamping pressure from, the long legs of the spider, and an adapter bar extending over and across the side wall of the platen and having the ends thereof bent upwards and notched to receive the short legs of the spider respectively and adapted to transmit clamping pressure from said short legs to different points on the side wall of the platen.

5. A vulcanizing apparatus comprising in combination a clamp having a part for supporting a tire tube and also having a clamping spider disposed above, and movable to and from, the tube supporting part and embodying a pair of oppositely extending long legs and a pair of oppositely extending short legs at right angles to the long legs, a fuel retaining platen adapted to clamp a patch against a portion of the tube on said supporting part and having a continuous, upstanding side wall adapted to be engaged at opposite points thereof by, and to receive clamping pressure from, the long legs of the spider, and an adapter bar extending over and across the side wall of the platen and having down-struck parts within and engaging said platen side wall for holding it against sidewise movement with respect to the platen and also having the ends thereof bent upwards to receive the short legs of the spider respectively and to transmit clamping pressure from said short legs to different points on the side wall of the platen.

6. A vulcanizing apparatus comprising in combination a clamp having a part for supporting a tire tube and also having a clamping spider disposed above and movable to and from the tube supporting part and embodying a pair of oppositely facing long legs, a pair of oppositely facing short legs extending at right angles to the long legs, a platen with a fuel disk therein adapted to clamp a patch against the portion of the tube on said supporting part, and having a continuous upstanding side wall adapted to hold the fuel disk in place and to be engaged at opposite points by, and to receive clamping pressure from, the long legs of the spider, and an adapter bar extending over and across the side wall of the platen and having downwardly extending means disposed inwardly of its ends and adapted to hold the fuel disk `against the platen bottom, and also having means at its ends to receive the short legs of the spider and to transmit clamping pressure from said short legs to different points on the side wall of the platen.

bination a clamp having a part for supporting a tire tube and also having'a clamping spider disposed above and movable to and from the tube supporting part and embodying a pair of oppositely facing long legs, a pair of oppositely Vfacing short legs extending at right angles to the long legs, a platen Witha fuel disk therein adapted torelamp a patch against the portion of the tube on said supporting part, and having a continuous upstanding side Wall adapted to hold the fuel disk in place and to be engaged .at opposite pointsV by, and to receive Yclamping pressure from, the long legs of the spider, and an adapter bar extending to the platen as well as to hold the fuel disk 1n i.

place against the platen bottom and also having the ends thereof bent upwards to receive the short legs of the spider respectively and to transmit clamping pressure from said short legs to dif-p ferent points on the side wall of the platen.

NOAH VAN CLEEF. 

